VAN GOGH SETS AUCTION RECORD - $39.9 MILLION - NYTimes.com VAN GOGH SETS AUCTION RECORD: $39.9 MILLION By FRANCIS X. CLINES, Special to the New York Times Published: March 31, 1987 Correction Appended LONDON, March 30— In a spectacular bidding duel that left some of the world's richest art patrons sitting on their hands in shock, two anonymous telephone competitors today drove the price of a single painting, one of van Gogh's ''Sunflowers,'' to an auction record of $39.9 million. The crowd at Christie's, which had laid out a total of $22.2 million in a preliminary hour of bidding on 41 Impressionist and modern works, could only gasp, applaud and cheer as the opening $8 million bid for the van Gogh was almost quintupled by the two unidentified telephone bidders in the space of 4 minutes 20 seconds.

The winning bid, which went well above preliminary speculation, was made on one of a series of sunflower paintings by van Gogh - a dramatic still life executed in the thick swirls of chrome yellow and yellow ochre that represented hope to the desperate post-Impressionist genius. The Previous Record The previous auction record for a painting, set in 1985, was $:8.1 million, or $10.4 million, for Mantengna's ''Adora-tion of the Magi.'' The J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, Calif. bought it Dazzling as it was, today's auction seemed one more bitter anomaly in the story of Vincent van Gogh, who sold one painting in his lifetime and committed suicide in an insane asylum a year after painting the ''Sunflowers'' as part of his final frenzied burst of genius at Arles in southern France. ''He was a strange man,'' said the auctioneer, Charles Allsopp, when asked how a painting considered worthless in van Gogh's lifetime could fetch a fortune a century later. ''He wasn't very good at marketing it,'' Mr. Allsopp said, pouring victory champagne after the auction.

The painting, a stunning display in the auction room as it was carried forth by nervous, white-gloved guards, drew all eyes and lenses in a focus of excitement that seemed crystalline. Ten spotlamps poured light onto the thick impasto that appears to have frozen living sunflowers onto the 39-by-30-inch canvas that van Gogh himself best described in one of his letters: ''It has the effect of a piece of cloth with satin and gold embroidery; it is magnificent.'' A century after that judgment, art experts estimate that van Gogh's original chrome yellow has faded and darkened considerably. 'Browner and Dirtier' ''It's a classic instance of using chrome yellow, which unfortunately changes and discolors radically and becomes browner and dirtier,'' the chairman of the painting conservation department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, John Brealey, said today. ''It's become very dingy looking.'' People of the sort who had just bid up toward the $4.1 million that bought a Modigliani (''Fillette au Tablier Noir'') with the merest flick of a diamond-decorated hand could only stare enviously at the van Gogh and the stakes.

A woman in blue velvet in the front row, seen minutes before yawning through the action on a mere $160,000 Leger (''Les Danseuses'') suddenly was rolling her eyes in tribute to the spirited van Gogh fight, fanning herself with her bidding card for emphasis as the auction ascended at $100,000 a second, then quickly dropping the card lest she bid herself beyond her means. Christie's carefully offered no clue as to the identity of the winning bidder other than to say it was ''a foreign buyer'' who would probably take the painting abroad. People who stood about the gallery, lingering like a sports crowd at a championship event, speculated that the contest had come down to two overseas museums, but the auction house would confirm nothing. The 'Fundamental Barrier'' ''He was making decisions,'' said James Roundell, the tuxedoed Christie's agent who kept the telephone to his ear, quietly informing the anonymous winner and signaling each decision as the bidding raced beyond what Mr. Allsopp described as the ''fundamental barrier'' of a single-painting bid of $15 million.

A spokesman for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Sandy Horrocks, confirmed yesterday that an agent for Walter Annenberg had been in the room and bid up to $20 million on the painting. The head of public information for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Malibu, Calif., Lori Starr, said yesterday, ''We are not the purchasers and we do not have any comment to make.'' There is no certainty that the winning bidder will ever be identified. Most of the owners of the 10 highest-priced art works of recent years have remained anonymous. The van Gogh came from the Chester Beatty collection, formed in the 1930's by Edith, wife of Sir Alfred Chester Beatty, a mining millionaire. It was sold to meet inheritance taxes after the death of Helen Chester Beatty, widow of Sir Alfred's son. Art specialists said the demand was in part the result of the fact that the painting, considered part of the signature work of van Gogh, would likely be the last of the sunflower series ever to be up for purchase since four other surviving versions are owned by museums, and a fifth was destroyed in World War II.

The total price was the winning bid of $36,292,500, plus a 10 percent standard buyer's fee. Christie's undisclosed auction fee is paid by the seller. Last 2 Minutes a Sprint The ostensible loser in the bidding was another Christie's stand-in, Annabelle Agnew, a wide-eyed woman who carefully announced each counter-bid to her party on the telephone. The final two minutes resembled a sprint as the auctioneer moved his head back and forth, one to the other, with neither principal flinching at the $500,000 increments in the contest. Finally, Ms. Agnew heard her party draw the line at an even $:22 million, and Mr. Roundell was ordered to go the extra step to victory. ''It did it all itself - it didn't really need me,'' Mr. Allsopp declared, later summoning the painting back out into the emptying gallery, as if for a victory lap. ''It's not a unique object,'' he declared rather casually after the bidding, seeking to reassure Britons that one of the other sunflower paintings is owned by the British National Gallery of Art.

British news reporters, obviously annoyed there was no winner to be interviewed, started shouting moralistic questions about the high price. ''How do you explain this to the layman?'' one asked. ''That's something the collector ought to answer,'' Mr. Allsopp replied. ''I can't possibly answer because I haven't got the money.'' Top 10 Prices Paid These are the 10 most expensive works of art sold at auction, taking into account the fluctuation of the dollar against the pound sterling: 1. ''Sunflowers,'' by Van Gogh. Christie's London. 1987. $39.9 million. 2. The 12th-century Gospels of Henry the Lion. Sotheby's London. 1983. $11.9 million. 3. ''Adoration of the Magi,'' by Mantegna. Christie's London. 1985. $:8.1 million, or $10.4 million. 4. ''Rue Mosnier With Street Pavers,'' by Manet. Christie's London. 1986. $:7.7 million, or $11 million. 5.

''Portrait of a Young Girl Wearing a Gold-Trimmed Cloak,'' by Rembrandt. Sotheby's London. 1986. $10.3 million. 6. ''Seascape: Folkestone,'' by Turner. Sotheby's London. 1984. $10 million. 7. ''Landscape With Rising Sun,'' by van Gogh. Sotheby's New York. 1985. $9.9 million. 8. ''Woman Reading,'' by Braque. Sotheby's London. 1986. $9.5 million. 9. ''Juliet and Her Nurse,'' by Turner. Sotheby's New York. 1980. $7 million. 10. ''Samson and Delilah,'' by Rubens, Christie's London. 1980. $6 million.

Photo of van Gogh's ''Sunflowers'' Correction: April 1, 1987, Wednesday, Late City Final Edition BBC - Archive - Van Gogh - The 9 O'Clock News | Van Gogh Painting Auctioned for Record £25 million Van Gogh | Portraits of the Artist The 9 O'Clock News | Van Gogh Painting Auctioned for Record £25 million Van Gogh's 'Sunflowers' breaks records at Christie's. FIRST BROADCAST | 30 March 1987 DURATION | 2 minutes 43 seconds FIRSTBROADCAST 1987 Synopsis One of Vincent van Gogh's most famous works is displayed at Christie's in London prior to an auction that is expected to see the painting leave the UK. Debbie Thrower reports on the growing trend of record-breaking auctions for art. Did you know? 'Sunflowers' (originally titled 'Tournesols') comes from a series of still-life works Van Gogh created between 1888 and 1889. At least nine versions of the painting are known to exist. This particular painting eventually sold for nearly £25 million.

The successful bidder at this auction was Yasuo Goto of the Yasuda Fire and Marine Insurance Company of Japan. In July the same year, the painting was reauctioned for 5.8 billion Japanese yen (pictured above). Contributors Van Gogh's 'Irises' Sells for $53.9 Million - NYTimes.com Van Gogh's 'Irises' Sells for $53.9 Million By RITA REIF Published: November 12, 1987 Correction Appended Van Gogh's glowing ''Irises'' -painted in 1889 during the artist's first week at the asylum at St.-Remy - was sold at Sotheby's in New York last night for $53.9 million, the highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction. The sale of 100 artworks, in which 75 were sold, totaled $110 million, a record total for an art auction. The fierce bidding for the Van Gogh masterpiece was witnessed by an international gathering of about 2,200 collectors, dealers, museum curators and officials, a standing-room-only crowd that watched the proceedings in person and over closed-circuit television.

Taking bids by telephone at the front of the room were two Sotheby's employees, David Nash, head of fine-art sales, and Geraldine Nager, who is in the bids department. There was a gasp throughout the room as John L. Marion, chairman of Sotheby's North America and the auctioneer, began the bidding at $15 million. Bidding progressed in $1-million increments between the two telephones and was sold to Mr. Nash, who was bidding for a European agent of an unidentified collector. Seen By Thousands on World Tour When Mr. Marion brought down the hammer at $49 million, there was resounding applause. The buyer will pay a 10 percent commission, which brings the purchase price to $53.9 million. Before the auction ''Irises'' was seen by thousands - first on a month long, 17,500-mile tour of Tokyo, London, Geneva and Zurich, then in six days of presale exhibition in New York.

The painting, acquired for $84,000 in 1947 by Joan Whitney Payson, who was the owner of the New York Mets until her death in 1975, was on loan until September to Westbrook College in Portland, Me., by her son John Whitney Payson, to whom she bequeathed it. It was exhibited through late March at the entrance to ''Van Gogh in St.-Remy and Auvers'' at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mr. Payson, who is an art dealer, said he decided in late summer to sell the painting ''because of the recent and unprecedented spiral in art prices and changes in Federal tax law.'' The decision came after van Gogh's ''Sunflowers'' was auctioned in March for $39.9 million and his ''Bridge of Trinquetaille'' was sold in June for $20.2 million - both by Christie's in London. Thank Heaven She Gave In' ''Ecstatic, that's how I feel'' said Mr. Payson beaming after the sale, adding that he had never dreamed ''Irises,'' his favorite painting, would sell for more than $34 million.

He also said that when his mother was told what the price of the painting was 40 years ago, she had said '''I'm not going to spend that much for a painting.'' Mr. Payson added that the dealer who sold it to her, Carman Messmore, chided her, saying, ''Now don't be stingy.' ''Thank heaven she gave in,'' Mr. Payson said. ''It's not for me - that's why I'm euphoric,'' he explained. ''The Payson foundation will get in excess of $6 million. Westbrook College will receive $6,125,000 and the gallery there $1,960,000.'' Several other charities will receive other sizable gifts too, he said. After the sale, Mr. Marion said ''Irises,'' which he had called ''the most important work we have auctioned in my memory,'' proved to be just that. '' 'Irises' transcends the stock market problems. If you did not buy it now, there might never be another chance. The rest of the sale was without hysteria in either direction -up or down.'' To Mr.

Nash, one surprise was ''there was less Japanese buying than I expected.'' 'An Extraordinary Price' Leaving Sotheby's, Daniel Wildenstein, a dealer with galleries in Paris and New York, said: ''I think it was a wonderful sale. I hope it - everything in the art market - will continue, as the mother of Napoleon used to say, 'as long as it can last.' '' Sidney Janis, the 91-year-old dean of the dealers in the room, was thoughtful. ''I never thought I'd live to see a painting sell for such a price,'' he said. ''I wonder if there is any painting in the world that would sell for more.'' Donald Marran, chairman of the Paine Webber Group and president of the Museum of Modern Art, said: ''It's an exciting picture and an extraordinary price.'' Will it make it difficult for museums to compete? ''At such prices, of course,'' he said. The estimate for the total sale of 100 works was between $77 million and $116 million.

There were a number of other records established for artists, including a record for Monet at $5.8 million, the price paid for ''Flower Garden'' by a European dealer, and Beckman at $1.5 million, the price at which ''Self-Portrait with Sailor's Hat'' was purchased by an unidentified European collector. The price was more than twice what it brought at auction at Christie's in 1981. Other paintings of note: Braque's ''Violin,'' was sold to a private American collector for $3.3 million. Renoir's ''Head of a Young Girl'' brought $2,530,000 and was purchased by Kazuo Fujii, president of Fujii Gallery of Tokyo. 10 Top Prices For Artworks These are the 10 most expensive works of art sold at auction. Dollar figures are as of the date of the sale. 1.''Irises'' by van Gogh. Sotheby's New York. 1987. $53.9 million. 2.''Sunflowers'' by van Gogh. Christie's London. 1987. $39.9 million.

3.''The Bridge of Trinquetaille'' by van Gogh. Christie's London. 1987. $20.2 million. 4.The Gospels of Henry the Lion, a 12th-century illumionated manuscript. Sotheby's London. 1983. $11.9 million. 5.''Adoration of the Magi'' by Mantegna. Christie's London. 1985. $:8.1 million, or $10.4 million. 6.''Rue Mosnier With Street Pavers'' by Manet. Christie's London. 1966. $:7.7 million, or $11 million. 7.''Portrait of a Young Girl Wearing a Gold-Trimmed Cloak'' by Rembrandt. Sotheby's London. 1986. $10.3 million. 8.''Seascape: Folkestone'' by Turner. Sotheby's London. 1984. $10 million. 9.''Landscape With Rising Sun,'' by van Gogh. Sotheby's New York. 1985. $9.9 million. 10.''Woman Reading'' by Braque.

Sotheby's London. 1986. $9.5 million. Photo of Van Gogh's ''Irises'' on display at Sotheby's (NYT/Ruby Washington) Correction: November 14, 1987, Saturday, Late City Final Edition Christie's - King Street, London, Uk - Auction Houses on Waymarking.com you are not logged in. [log in] Christie's - King Street, London, Uk - Auction Houses on Waymarking.com Welcome to Waymarking.com! We hope you've been able to find what you are looking for. We would also like to encourage you to take some time to browse some of the other aspects of our site. We recommend viewing our featured waymarks , or perhaps the newest waymarks . You can also create a free membership to track your progress online and share your locations with others.

Click here to view the complete waymark directory N 51° 30.397 W 000° 08.231 30U E 698668 N 5710051 Quick Description: This is a branch of Christie's, the world famous auction house, in King Street, London. Location: London, United Kingdom Date Posted: 4/12/2012 9:19:05 AM Waymark Code: WME73P Long Description: Christie's website (visit link ) gives the following overview of their King Street location: "Christie's, the world's oldest fine art auctioneer, has sold fine art, furniture, jewelry and wine since James Christie conducted the first sale in London on 5 December 1766. Ever since Christie's has continued to provide the perfect backdrop for the sales of the world's finest collections and greatest works of art before their auction. Christie's moved to its global headquarters at 8 King Street, St.

James's, in 1823, still its London headquarters today." Christie's has an amazing history as their website ( visit link ) tells us: "1766 James Christie holds a sale from his Great Rooms in Pall Mall, his first permanent auction rooms, on 5 December. The sale includes 2 chamber pots, a pair of sheets, 2 pillowcases and 4 irons. 1778 James Christie values Sir Robert Walpole’s collection of pictures on behalf of his grandson George Walpole, 3rd Earl, and negotiates their sale from Houghton for £40,000 to the Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great. 1795 The five-day sale of the contents of the studio of Sir Joshua Reynolds, P.R.A.. realizes £25,000. Following the execution in 1793 of Madame du Barry, mistress of Louis XVI, her jewels are sold by James Christie for £8,791,4s 9d. 1823 Christie’s moves to new premises at 8 King Street, St. James’s, the present London headquarters.

1831 On the death of James Christie II, William Manson joins the firm, which becomes Christie & Manson. 1848 The Collection of the Duke of Buckingham, the Stowe House sale, lasts 40 days and realises £ 75,562. 1876 Gainsborough’s portrait of the Duchess of Devonshire becomes the first work of art to sell for 10,000 guineas (£10,500). 1882 The Hamilton Palace Sale. A remarkable collection of pictures formed by the 10th Duke of Hamilton are dispersed in a sale that lasts 17 days and achieves a total of £392,562. Eleven of the pictures are bought by the newly founded National Gallery, London. 1892 Christie’s sells its first Impressionist picture: L’Absinthe by Degas. The picture, which today hangs in the Louvre, fetches £189.

1919 The last in this series of seven sales of gifts to the Red Cross, held since 1915, brings the aggregate total raised to almost £420,000 (more red cross sales followed the second world war). 1926 Romney’s Portrait of Mrs. Davenport becomes the most expensive work of art to be sold between the two World wars at £60,900. It now hangs in the National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. 1941 Christie’s premises suffer a direct hit during the Blitz. The firm moves to Derby House, near Oxford Street, and then to Spencer House in St. James’s, finally returning to the re-built King Street premises in 1953. 1958 Christie’s establishes its first overseas office, by placing a representative in Rome. 1965 Rembrandt’s Portrait of Titus sells for 760,000 guineas (£798,000). 1968 Christie’s opens its first overseas salesroom in Geneva where it holds international jewellery auctions. 1969 Christie’s offices are opened in Paris and Tokyo.

1970 Velazquez’s Portrait of Juan de Pareja fetches £2.3 million, it is the first work of art to sell for over £1 million. The painting now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1973 Christie’s becomes a public company quoted on the London Stock Exchange. Christie’s opens an office in Amsterdam. 1975 Christie’s South Kensington is established. The Star of South Africa, a pear-shaped diamond, sells in Geneva for SFr 1.6 million. 1977 Christie’s saleroom opens on Park Avenue, New York, with the first series of sales realising £5 million. 1980 The Ford Collection of Impressionist Paintings is sold in New York for $18.4 million. The Codex Leicester, a collection of notes and drawings on cosmology and water, compiled by Leonardo da Vinci circa 1508, is sold in New York for £ 2.2 million. 1984 Old Master Drawings from the celebrated collection of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth realize £20 million.

The sale includes an exquisite Raphael drawing, Hand of an Apostle Study for the Head, which sells for £3.5 million. 1985 Mantegna’s masterpiece, The Adoration of the Magi becomes the most expensive Old Master painting ever sold at the time for £8.1 million. It now hangs in the Getty Museum, Malibu. 1986 Manet’s La Rue Monsieur aux Paveurs becomes the most expensive Impressionist painting ever sold at auction when it realizes £7.7 million. The ‘Nanking Cargo’ of Chinese porcelain and gold ingots salvaged from a Dutch East Indiaman sold in Amsterdam for a total of £10.2 million. This is the first of a series of ‘shipwreck sales’. 1987 A stellar year for records at Christie's; Van Gogh’s Sunflowers sell for £24.75 million, and a second work by van Gogh, Le Pont de Trinquetaille, achieves £12.65 million.

Other important records are achieved for a Gutenberg Bible, at £3.3 million, a D Flawless 64.83 carat diamond, at £3.9 million, and a 1931 Bugatti Royale motor car, at £5.5 million. 1988 Van Gogh’s Portrait of Adeline Ravoux sells for $13.75 million at Christie’s New York. Picasso’s Acrobate et Jeune Arlequin sells for £20.9 million at Christie’s London. 1989 Pontormo’s Portrait of Duke Cosimo I de’ Medici becomes the most expensive Old Master Picture ever sold at $35.2 million (at the time). It now hangs in the Getty Museum, Malibu. Christie’s expands in the Far East with the formation of a joint venture company, Christie’s Swire (Hong Kong) Limited. A new saleroom is opened in Melbourne, Australia. 1990 Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr. Gachet becomes the most expensive work of art ever sold when it fetches £49.1 million at Christie’s New York.

The Badminton Cabinet sells for £8,580,000 $15.1 million, setting the record for any piece of furniture or applied work of art. 1991 Titian’s Venus and Adonis is sold for £7.5 million. 1992 Michelangelo’s Rest on the Flight to Egypt is sold at Christie’s London for £4.2 million, a record price for an Old Master Drawing at auction. A magnificent Assyrian bas-relief from the Palace of Ashurnasirpal II at Nimrud, dating from the 9th Century B.C., is discovered in a boys’ school in Dorset, and sets a world record for any antiquity when it is sold at Christie’s for £ 7.7 million. Christie’s first jewellery sale in Hong Kong makes $2.7 million. The ‘Mdivani’ necklace sells for HK$33 million, a world record price for jadeite jewellery and a world record price for any work of art sold in Asia.

1994 The sale of works of art from Houghton hall, home of the Marquess of Cholmondeley, fetches in excess of £24 million on 8 December. 1995 Jewels from the personal collection of Princess Salimah Aga Khan are sold in Geneva for £27.7 million. Christie’s acquires a real estate subsidiary in the United States, Christie’s Great Estates. The Collection of the late Rudolph Nureyev is dispersed in the sales in London and New York. The auctions realize a total of more than $10 million, a single pair of ballet slippers fetching £12,000. 1996 For the first time since 1882, a picture by a living artist is the most expensive work to be sold during the year. Willem de Kooning’s Woman sells in New York for $15.6 million.

Raphael’s exquisite study for the Head and Hand of an Apostle, which had been the centrepiece of the sale of Old Master Master Drawings from Chatsworth in 1984, appears at auction again, this time selling for £5.3 million, and setting a new record for an Old Master Drawing at auction. 1997 The sale in New York of the collection of Impressionist and Modern art formed by John and Frances L. Loeb fetches a stellar $93 million. The Victor and Sally Ganz sale makes auction history, totalling $206.5 million (£122.2 million) when it sells in New York, the highest total ever for any single-owner sale at auction. A Charity gala auction of 79 Dresses from the Collection of Diana, Princess of Wales, are sold for a staggering $3,258,750 (£1,960,150) in Christie’s New York.

The proceeds of the sale benefited the Royal Marsden Hospital Cancer Fund and AIDS Crisis Trust 1998 The sale of Vincent van Gogh’s self portrait, Portrait de l’artiste sans barbe for $71.5 million (£42.8 million), takes the record of the most expensive work of art sold at auction for the whole year. Artemis S.A. acquire Christie’s International plc. 2000 In April, Christie’s new American headquarters open at 20 Rockefeller Plaza, New York. The Collection of The Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild sells in July at Christie’s London for £57.7 million, the highest ever total for a single owner sale in Europe and breaking 27 world records, including nine in the old master paintings category alone. The Personal Property of Marilyn Monroe goes under the hammer in Christie’s America’s newly opened Rockefeller Plaza, selling for over $13.4 million (£8.1 million). The highlight is the ‘Happy Birthday’ dress, worn by Marilyn on 19 May 1962 to sing to President John F.

Kennedy, which realizes over $1.2 million, a world record for a woman’s costume and the third highest price for an item of celebrity memorabilia. 2001 A Michelangelo drawing, Study for the Risen Christ, formerly part of the collection of Sir Brinsley Ford, sold in London for £8.1 million. Picasso’s Femme aux bras Croix sells for $55 million in New York, the most expensive Picasso ever sold and the fifth highest price at auction for any work of art. Christie’s state-of-the-art new premises in Paris open on 9 avenue Matignon. The first sale takes place on 5 December, precisely 235 years after James Christie’s first sale. In London, Horse and Rider by Leonardo da Vinci equals the record for any Old Master Drawing at auction and sells for £8.1 million. A highly important classical Roman marble statue of the Jenkins Venus, of Medici type, sells for $11.6 million (£7.9 million), and takes a world record price for any antiquity ever sold at auction.

2001 The world auction record for an Indian jewel was established at Christie’s in September when a Mughal emerald wine cup, from the period of Jahangir (1605-1627AD), sold for £1,797,250 ($2,963,665). 2004 The Badminton Cabinet is sold for £19,045,250 ($36,662,106) in London in December, breaking its own record as the most expensive work of decorative art ever sold. 2005 A brief history of Christie's - Telegraph Retail and Consumer A brief history of Christie's Christie's auction house had its best year ever in 2010, boosted by the sale of a Picasso for more than $100m. Here is a brief history of the illustrious auctioneer: Marilyn by Andy Warhol on display during a preview of Christie's Contemporary Art Autumn sale in New York, Oct 2010. Photo: AFP 6:15AM GMT 28 Jan 2011 Christie's was founded in 1766 by James Christie.

He held a sale in his "Great Rooms" on London's Pall Mall, offering items including two chamber pots and two pillowcases. By 1778, James Christie had moved on to art auctions, and arranged the sale of Sir Robert Walpole’s collection of pictures on behalf of his grandson, George Walpole. They are sold to Catherine the Great of Russia for £40,000. In 1795, Christie made £25,000 selling the contents of Sir Joshua Reynolds' studio over the course of five days. James Christie's son, another James, takes over the business on his father's death in 1803. In 1823, Christie's moved to its present London headquarters at 8 King Street in St James's. Related Articles Churchill sale at Christie's 04 May 2010 Christie's sale of the Duke of Buckingham's collection, the Stowe House sale, lasted for 40 days and raised £75,562 in 1848. In 1892, Christie's sold its first Impressionist painting, Degas' L’Absinthe, for £189.

It now hangs in the Louvre. In 1941, Christie's headquarters suffered a direct hit during the Blitz and moved to Derby House, near Oxford Street, only returning to King Street in 1953. Christie's opens its first overseas office, in Rome, in 1958. The company now has 10 salerooms around the world, in cities including New York, Paris, Geneva and Hong Kong. In 1978, Christie's auctions Velazquez’s Portrait of Juan de Pareja and it fetches £2.3m. It is the first work of art to sell for over £1m. The painting now hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Christie's lists on the London Stock Exchange in 1973. In 1984, a sale of Old Master drawings from the collection of the Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth fetches £20m. Van Gogh's Sunflowers is sold for £24.75m in 1987. In 1990, Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr.

Gachet becomes the most expensive work of art ever sold when it fetches £49.1m at Christie’s in New York. Jewels from the personal collection of Princess Salimah Aga Khan are sold in Geneva for £27.7m in 1995. Christie's is bought by Artemis in 1998. In 2000, the Collection of The Barons Nathaniel and Albert von Rothschild sells at Christie’s in London for £57.7m, the highest ever total for a single owner sale in Europe. Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio by J.M.W. Turner fetches $35.65m in 2006, setting a new world auction record for a British painting. In 2007, Christie’s acquires Haunch of Venison, a contemporary art gallery with exhibition spaces in London, New York and Berlin. In 2008, Christie's Impressionist and Modern Art Evening Sale realises £144.4m, the highest ever total for an art auction held in Europe.

Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust from the Collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody sold for a record $106.48m in 2010, breaking the world record for the most expensive artwork sold at auction. Contacts | Estate Appraisals & Valuation Services | Christie's Senior Vice President, Head of Estates, Appraisals & Valuations, Americas Sarah Vandeweerdt svandeweerdt@christies.com +1 212 636 2389 Sarah Vandeweerdt was appointed the Head of Estates, Appraisals & Valuations in July 2013. In this role, Mrs. Vandeweerdt is responsible for overseeing the management of all the valuations produced by Christie’s Americas and managing the Estates, Appraisals & Valuations team in New York. In addition, Mrs. Vandeweerdt works in conjunction with the Business Director on department strategy, staff structures, training programs, financial proposals and business development initiatives. Prior to her 2013 appointment, Mrs. Vandeweerdt was Senior Vice President, Appraisals Director for the department.

Sarah Vandeweerdt joined Christie’s in 2000 as a senior account manager in the Estates, Appraisals and Valuations department and was appointed a Senior Vice President in 2008. In this role, Mrs. Vandeweerdt assisted estate, institutional and private clients with Christie’s appraisal and consignment services as well as developed relationships with advisors and fiduciaries in the banking and legal community. Mrs. Vandeweerdt has been instrumental in the successful sale of several important collections at Christie’s including the 2008 single-owner sales of Impressionist, Modern and Post War Art from the Hillman Family Collection and the Estate of Alice Lawrence. She also facilitated a single-owner sale of fine and decorative art in 2007 from the Collection of Maria Felix, the acclaimed Mexican film actress. Mrs. Vandeweerdt has over eighteen years of experience in the auction world. She received a bachelor’s degree in art history at The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. and a master’s degree in fine and decorative arts from the Sotheby’s Institute of Art in London.

Senior Director, Head of Estates, Appraisals & Valuations, EMERI Mark Wrey mwrey@christies.com +44 207 389 2464 Mark Wrey began his career at Christie’s King Street in 1974 where he worked for 18 years in the Press, PR and Marketing departments, becoming Marketing Director in 1986. Highlights among his many exciting projects at this time were the amazing £10m Nanking Cargo Shipwreck Sale and the sale of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers, which was a landmark sale; this was the first picture to sell for more than £10m when it sold for £22.5m in 1987. Mark then took responsibility in 1992 for Christie’s interests in the South of England. This involved looking after clients’ needs, providing valuations and selections for sale. The culmination of this period were the sales which he orchestrated from Cowdray Park, involving all specialist art departments as well as advice from the Valuations and Heritage & Taxation departments. This extensive project culminated in some exceptional sales.

Mark has been a Senior Director in the UK Chairman’s Office and took on the role of Head of Estates , Appraisals and Valuations EMERI department in 2012. He travels extensively and greatly enjoys the vast variety of objects, collections and clients that he encounters every week. Directeur Département Inventaires, Christie's Paris Grégoire Debuire gdebuire@christies.com +33 140 768 566 Grégoire Debuire began his career in 1997 at Maître Rouillac, in Vendôme, and obtained his auctioneer's diploma the same year. During his career he has worked at Maître Loizillon, Maître Rémi Ader and at the auction house Mercier, in Lille, before joining Pierre Bergé and associates in Brussels. Grégoire has always had a passion for art history and the art market, and holds a Master's degree in art history and public law regarding the preservation of historic buildings. He has published numerous articles on French architectural heritage, and in 2000 a book about small castles and manor houses in Pas-de-Calais.

Since 2006, he has managed the Valuations department at Pierre Bergé and associates in Brussels, while actively participating in the Paintings, Furniture and Works of Art and Asian Arts departments and organising a sale of Vintage, Modern and Contemporary photography. Among the most striking items Grégoire has sold at auction are a rediscovered Marguerite Gérard painting, from the famous collection of cardinal Fesch, which sold for €241,500 in 2005, a rare statue N' Gombe, Congo, which was collected in 1906 and then rediscovered in a family collection in 2008 selling for €369,000, and a new study for Jacques Louis David's famous and historic picture 'Le serment du jeu de paume' which had previously belonged to the Baron Vivant-Denon. The owner was not aware of the artist and the historic importance of this work which sold for €193,050 in 2007. Grégoire has always known how to share his passion for the arts and presented the French television programme 'Côté Maison' which shared extraordinary or curious objects with its viewers.

Some of the great moments of the show were then reunited in his work 'Côté Collections' which showed 347 of the most unusual objects. In addition to this, he led a radio show on the art market on RTL. Business Director, Estates, Appraisals & Valuations and Museum Services, Americas Edwina Stitt Senior Vice President, Senior Director Head of Trusts, Estates & Wealth Management Services Bonnie Brennan bbrennan@christies.com +1 212 641 3629 Bonnie Brennan is a Senior Vice President and Senior Director, Head of Trusts, Estates and Wealth Management Services in the Chairman’s Office of Christie’s Americas. Ms. Brennan joined Christie’s in 2012 with 15 years of experience in the auction business. She brings a history of successes in client development and strong relationships across the Trusts & Estates community. Since joining the Christie’s team, she has played a key role in securing notable consignments for Christie’s major sales of Impressionist and Modern Art, Post-War and Contemporary Art and American Paintings. Prior to her current role, Ms.

Brennan worked as a Senior Vice President, Business Development Officer for another major international auction house, where she specialized in the area of Trusts and Estates. She gained a solid reputation as a team player and had a long history of success in assisting professional fiduciaries and private clients with the disposition of personal property through both public auction and private sales. Ms. Brennan was also responsible for developing effective and compelling sale and marketing strategies for consignments at the highest levels. Ms. Brennan is a graduate of Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she was a double-major in Art History and Communications. Ms. Brennan is a member of Board of Trustees for Cristo Rey New York High School and she serves as an active member on the Professional Advisors Council for Calvary Hospital, The Professional Advisory Council for the American Friends of the Israel Museum and the Planned Giving Advisory Council for the New York Historical Society. Director, Heritage & Taxation Advisory Service Ruth Cornett rcornett@christies.com Prior to joining Christie’s, Ruth Cornett worked as a tax advisor in a number of professional firms in the City and the West End of London.

After training as an art historian and working as a curator in the V&A, Ruth changed careers in 1992, studying law and qualifying as a Chartered Tax Advisor in 1998. Ruth has advised a broad spectrum of clients on a range of tax matters with a particular emphasis on capital gains tax, inheritance tax and income tax. To consolidate her expertise in these areas, Ruth qualified as a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) in 2008. Ruth also serves as an Observer on the Historic Houses Association (HHA) Tax and Political Committee.

Question: Which painting by Van Gogh was sold at auction by Christie's of London for £24,750,000 in 1987?
Answer: 'SUNFLOWERS'